A large education provider in Victoria commissioned Syneka Marketing to review its marketing activities. The Marketing Audit identified gaps in marketing processes and strategy, as well as determining improvements to marketing processes to optimise results.

Our Marketing Audit is based on the premise of reviewing existing capabilities, with the delivery of recommendations to strengthen marketing capacity.

Our methodology is developed through a three phased approach:

We identified that the education provider’s marketing collateral did not fully align with the overall customer and stakeholder journey. There was also a need to redefine the customer experience to include key influencers. The marketing team lacked the strategic direction to align itself with the values of the organisation.

The Marketing Audit recommendations provided insights into the purchase decision, allowing the organisation to consider how it could strengthen the number of enrolments for each education program, as well as improving the capacity of the existing marketing team.

Today we hosted our National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Industry Roundtable providing a forum for NDIS providers to explore the challenges and opportunities in becoming market-ready under the NDIS.

We have worked extensively with disability service providers and equipment suppliers in developing the marketing capability and capacity required for the market driven environment of the NDIS.

Alex presenting to attendees at the NDIS Report of Findings Roundtable

Attendees gained an understanding of the current NDIS context, the state of marketing within the NDIS and the elements required for a successful market readiness strategy. In particular there, is a need to utilise marketing governance to instil to successfully differentiate within a competitive market context.

The NDIS is an extremely competitive market, due to the high level of participant choice and potential possibilities that exist within specified NDIS supports. In a highly competitive market, price and brand are the main levers used to influence demand. Given that pricing controls currently exist within the NDIS, the only potential option for providers is to successfully differentiate through their brand. Building brand equity requires a strategic approach to marketing, with the ability to measure and strengthen awareness, attitudes and loyalty.

Marketing Governance provides the framework for NDIS providers to respond to the changing market conditions through the NDIS, through the strategic alignment between business and marketing outcomes, as well as the management of risk. Success within the NDIS requires marketing roles to be clearly defined so there is an understanding of how to measure marketing performance, as well as allocating the resources required to build and sustain market demand. Ultimately, this instils an outcomes based approach to marketing, with the ability measure marketing inputs and outputs across the chain of marketing activities.

Marketing Governance ensures the building of brand equity, by aligning strategic direction, understanding brand risks and by measuring and strengthening awareness, attitudes and loyalty.
The roundtable coincided with the launch of our NDIS Report: Challenges, Solutions and Market Readiness. Our research explores over 1000 National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) registered providers to determine the level of market readiness as the NDIS continues to roll out across Australia.

Through this report, we identify the key challenges facing NDIS providers and the opportunities that exist in strengthening marketing capability and capacity as well as maximising their impact in an NDIS environment.

The Aged and Healthcare Industry is experiencing rapid upheaval; demand drivers are changing through the introduction of demand-driven models of consumer-directed care, while government regulation is leading to increasing compliance costs.

Syneka Marketing, in partnership with next level consulting, delivered our industry roundtable exploring these challenges and the factors required to embed a market facing culture within aged and healthcare organisations.

The workshop guided participants through the five stages of market capacity, beginning with compliance requirements, into the building of organisational capability and maintaining visibility across business operations.

There is a need for aged care providers to embed marketing metrics to effectively measure brand equity, given the low levels of differentiation that exist within the sector. Embedding marketing metrics, with the ability to measure the chain of marketing activities enables organisations to have a greater degree of clarity and alignment with their vision and purpose.

Building capability and capacity in the aged care sector will help providers to embed a market facing culture that can measure the return from marketing investment.

The introduction of the NDIS is reshaping the delivery of disability services by introducing a demand-driven model to encourage choice between services and providers.

Disability service providers that traditionally rely on block funding need to build revenue certainty in an environment that now encourages choice and competition. As a consequence, there is an urgent need to build marketing capability and capacity for disability service providers.

Syneka Marketing has been working with for-profit and not-for-profit disability providers to enhance market readiness within this uncertain environment. On the 22nd March, we will be presenting our report into the current state of market readiness within the NDIS and the steps to strengthen marketing capability and capacity.

We invite disability providers of all sizes to attend our NDIS Industry Roundtable where we will be presenting and workshopping the findings from this report. If your organisation is looking for ways to remain viable and sustainable, then attend this event and learn how to safeguard the future of your future.

To celebrate the year ahead, for 2018 and the Year of the Dog, we held our Welcome Back Drinks in the company of our clients, business partners and associates. Our guests bring their own business journeys and it was fantastic to see Pat Slattery at our event, who was one of our first clients from almost ten years ago.

Pat Slattery, our first client from 2009, speaking to guests at our Welcome Back Drinks

Our focus on Marketing Governance continues, with our work ensuring organisations can measure marketing outcomes, along with providing clarity for roles and delegations. It is increasingly apparent that the Australian Marketing Institute, which in theory, is the peak body representing the marketing profession, is absent from the policy and advocacy activities needed to define the role and purpose of marketing.

We are filling this void, with an emphasis on industry research for the year ahead. Industry events are planned for aged care and disability providers to assist organisations in utilising marketing to overcome increasing business uncertainty.

Our small business consultancy, Business Growth Partners, is developing industry-leading research on the critical success factors for startups and growing businesses. The statistic that nine out of ten new businesses fail in the first twelve months, should not be considered as a fait accompli, rather we should be exploring the toolsets necessary to stimulate business growth.

Our team members, Megan and Ruby, at our Welcome Back Drinks.

The lack of barriers to entry into the marketing profession results in unqualified advice that creates a punitive cost to businesses and not-for-profit organisations. It is the role of Marketing Governance to provide the right marketing information to encourage decisions that build and sustain market presence.

Thank you for joining us on this journey and we look forward to working with you in the year ahead.

Over the past two years we have been assisting National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers to understand and maximise their impact in an NDIS environment. The NDIS will be fully rolled out by the end of 2019 and is anticipated to reach 460,000 participants.

The introduction of the NDIS has transformed the way that many organisations and practitioners work with people with disabilities. Block funding has been replaced by individualised packages, with NDIS participants having the choice to select providers to meet their needs.

Our involvement with the NDIS has been through various means including workshops, as well as the development of marketing audits, forecasts and plans for providers.

Approximately 6 months ago we also contacted disability providers in Victoria to gain an understanding of the current context of the NDIS. The undertaking was substantial. Through this endeavour we have gained considerable insight into this sector. We would like to share this information with you in a report that we have put together about the sector.